Billy Roche's Pantheon: Discovering the Adolescent

Abstract: The following pages examine the use of character archetypes in the works of
contemporary Irish author Billy Roche. Although there are no recurring characters in
Roche’s writing, familiar character frameworks can be identified throughout his drama
and prose. The writer has identified some of these personalities (the joker, the scorner
of life, and the white goddess among others) as essential entities within his “pantheon”
of characters, but has not acknowledged one of the most important pieces of his
ensemble: the adolescent male—a character archetype that provides a sense of hope
and an emotional core to Roche’s texts, outshining the otherwise commonplace
inhabitants of working-class Ireland, as he handles the complications inherent in
coming-of-age.
This thesis identifies some of the most vital adolescent figures throughout
Roche’s work, while simultaneously seeking to define the parameters and function of
the character archetype. By looking at a wide range of texts that span both genre and
the full length of his career, a clear portrait of the adolescent is presented that sheds
light on the importance of the archetype in Billy Roche’s writing.